Devon Yard Downsized (!), SAVVY Spring Break Style Guide, Speaking up re: Stoga hazing, Gateway’s unlikely new BYOB

Developer Eli Kahn’s 60-foot high hopes have been officially and forever dashed.

After huddling with disgruntled Devon neighbors, he’s just unveiled a new plan that lops off the top floor of his proposed Devon Yard apartments and cuts the number of units from 135 to 100.

Was it the blue yard signs that sprouted like spring weeds along adjoining streets after that very vocal public meeting?

Or the realization that the hubbub wasn’t going to blow over and he’d have to give a little to get a lot.

Or perhaps he asked for the moon, knowing he might have to settle for the stars – a ploy not unheard of among developers.

Whatever the spur(s), Kahn heard y’all loud and clear: You like his Devon Yard Anthropologie/Terrain Garden Center/Vetri restaurant plan for the old Waterloo site. His proposed five-story retail/apartment building across the street? Not so much.

Under the new plan, the structure would stand four floors/50 ft. high – a height that’s allowed under current zoning laws.

Calling his concession “an effort to create some harmony with the opponent neighbors” and, yeah, a way to get his plan approved, Kahn tells SAVVY he’s “heard nothing but delight from the board. However, there are still neighbors that will never be happy.”

Each unit will be “a little bigger,” Kahn says, because “we’re marketing to empty nesters wanting larger units.” (A Kahn hint-hint to those fearing the project will overtax T/E schools.)

Although Kahn says there are no architectural renderings yet, he tells us that the building’s footprint, rooftop decks and pricing will remain the same. So picture the rendering below in four stories. (Take out either the second or third floor.)

This time out Kahn insists he’s not budging.

“We have scaled this down to the bare minimum, “ he writes in an e-mail. “Nothing left in the tank to give. We will not jeopardize the quality of the project by making it any smaller.”

So what happens next? LOTS of talking. Why? The re-do enters the Easttown “system” as a new plan, one that still requires a zoning change.

It was officially submitted to Easttown Supervisors Monday night.

Who sent it to township planners.

Who will hold a public hearing, then make a recommendation and conditions and send it back to the Supes.

Who will then hold their own public meeting, likely the last week of April. (A 30-day public notice is required.)

Who will then, ta-dah, vote yay or nay.

Meantime, the chair of Easttown’s Board of Supervisors  tells SAVVY it’s “a no brainer; the density is better; the height is conforming.” But the setbacks “from the road and other structures” might still be an issue, Supe Chris Polites allows.

“I might not be completely enamored with his plan,” Polites says.  But he knows one thing for sure: he doesn’t want a Super WaWa or car dealership built there instead. Incidentally, Polites let slip that he’s heard (unconfirmed) rumblings that BMW is lusting for the site.

After all, Kahn could just up and sell the lot if his plan is nixed, the Supe says. Which just might put this one in the category of “Be Careful What You Wish For.”

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Got something to say about No Gay Thursdays and whatever other nonsense/crimes may or may not have been committed in the Conestoga football locker room? Monday night’s your chance.

The Tredyffrin/Easttown School District has scheduled a public meeting on the whole, hot hazing mess for March 28 at 6 pm. in the Stoga auditorium.

To bring you up-to-date:

Coach Vogan last week resigned from all “coaching responsibilities” (including the baseball team). The rest of the football coaching staff was fired. The district has to hire a bunch of new coaches, like yesterday.

T/E’s internal investigation (separate from the DA’s) concluded that:

• …locker rooms had “insufficient adult presence” throughout the football season. School officials are puzzling over how to best patrol the premises – a tricky business in the post-Jerry Sandusky era.
• …hazing of underclassmen (including “backslapping, horseplay and obscene behavior”) did indeed occur over the “past several years.” And some of it happened as part of “No Gay Thursday.” Yeah, NGT, sadly, was a thing.
• …the adults had no clue what was going on.
• …T/E should hire a full-time District Athletic Director to oversee middle and high school sports.

More than a few folks – including some students, players and football parents – aren’t buying the alleged victim’s story, raising the specter of another Duke lacrosse imbroglio. There’s A LOT more to the story than the DA’s saying, they claim.

To instill a more “positive and respectful sports culture,” the district wants to:

• hire consultants to design a special program for the football team and eventually other teams,
• work with experts to teach “universal respect” in classrooms.
• continue to work with the Anti-Defamation League “to enhance tolerance and diversity, regardless of sexual/gender identity.”
• invite an outside review by the PA. Interscholastic Athletic Association.

Talk about your well-timed exits. Retired, longtime School Superintendent Dan Waters headed for the hills in July, thereby avoiding T/E’s twin scandals of 2015-16: sexting and hazing. On the flip side, tough timing for new Supe Richard Gusick. We wouldn’t blame him a bit if he pined – at least occasionally – for the relative peace and quiet of his old admin job at T/E.

Stay tuned, folks. As we say in the news biz, this one’s got legs.

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Pop quiz: When is a deli not a deli? When it’s a trattoria, silly.

Appetite’s Delight in Gateway is pulling off the switcheroo of the century: Sandwich shop by day; Italian BYOB by night, white tablecloths and mood lighting included.

Appetite’s owner Pren Kqira has teamed up with Rocco Desidario, who’s helmed a few local joints over the years, including the Philly cheesesteak drive-thru that’s now Yogorino Paoli.

Pren says Rocco had “a vision that Gateway needed a nice Italian BYOB … He kept pushing the idea and “he wore me out,” Pren says.

Cue the mid-winter opening of Appetite’s Delight Trattoria, amid minimal fanfare. Only a sidewalk sign announces the split-decision supper spot. (You can still scoot to the rear for sandwiches at night.)

The vibe: A work in progress. Arched Italianate columns now separate the dining area from the sandwich shop. Coming soon: Draperies to soften views of the brightly lit counter in back.

The menu: Traditional, tasty, wide-ranging and reasonably priced Italian dishes cooked by Rocco’s guys. Ambitions here far exceed, say, a pasta- and parm-slinging pizza joint.

A plus: The Gateway state store, handy for last-minute bottle runs.

Another plus: Old school in a nice way, Rocco himself will show you to your table. A Berwynite by way of Abruzzi, Italy, dapper Rocco could star in a Rat Pack movie.

Coming soon: Gluten-free pastas and expanded alfresco dining. The spring repaving of the shopping center will extend Appetite’s “front patio” by 4 to 6 feet.

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SAVVY’s Spring-Break Style Shopping Guide (for Gals AND Guys):

Thanks to Nancy Amoroso, Wynnewood stylist to the stars (and regular humans too), SAVVY’s got the straight scoop on spring style for you and your honey.

Not sure what to buy, if anything, from the season’s confounding, colorful array? Here are Nancy’s buying suggestions for a spiffed up and stylin’ April/May/June closet:

For gals:

1. A Victorian-inspired top or dress with a bit of volume. Look for either off-the-shoulder peasant or “cold shoulder” cutout necklines or a high collar, and nude mesh or lace inserts.
2. A fresh, full-legged pant silhouette – either full-length or culottes. Not the skinny crops of recent seasons, culottes are cropped mid-calf and are cut so full they look like skirts. (They’re even wider than ’70s “gaucho pants!)
   

   Stella McCartney culottes in a fresh, floral print sell for a cool $1,735 but culottes abound in every price point.

    

3. A new take on denim: a pair of wide-leg, high-waisted jeans, an oversized, longer denim jacket (emblems or embroidery are a plus) or perhaps a midi-length denim skirt.
4. Something printed with floral, stripes or both(!): a midi-length dress, bomber jacket, shirtwaist dress (loose or belted), an A-line skirt. Lots of fringe and rough edges.
5. Or keep clothing purchases at a minimum and say it with accessories: statement sneakers; chunky heels; mules (!); wrap-around, lace-up sandals and booties; a mini version of a top-handled, Birkin or drawstring bag; bold, hanging earrings (silence those loud statement necklaces!); chokers, cameos, and slimmed-down neck scarves.

For guys:

1. A chambray shirt (loose or fitted) worn with slim-cut vintage-looking chinos in white or slightly off white. Think Gatsby, but more relaxed.
2. A short-sleeved, Fonzi-esque shirt (more fitted than the old Hawaiian shirt) in a retro print floral, nautical, island or other motif.
3. A 70’s bomber jacket in olive, denim, black, gray or blue.
4. An old-school khaki suit, side or center-vented. More fashion-forward/younger guys should choose narrower legs and lapels and hem the pants a tad shorter than usual. (Fall preview: full-cut, pleated men’s trousers will return soon. You heard it here first.)
5. A plaid, striped or bold-colored sport coat. Or a suit in any shade of blue.
6. Cool kicks: trendy, non-workout sneakers, a pair of 50s penny loafers or slip-ons.
7. Shorter, more fitted shorts. Baggy, to-the-knee shorts look old man-ish.

For the record: Nancy calls many of Spring ’16’s looks “a tough sell.” After all, they’re ripped from the 70s. And let’s be honest: who really thought they looked all that swell back then? (Contact Nancy at [email protected].)